How can anyone be on morphine recreationally by choice?????

If I didn't know that morphine takes away pretty much all the back pain I've been struggling with for years in an instant, I woudn't believe it. And even though I know it's temporary, I am glad I got it. BUT! Considering the side-effects, I can NOT understand how ANYONE can take this drug voluntarily as a recreational drug. If someone likes taking this drug just for getting away from their reality, they must have serious problems. But I'll get to that pat in due time. I'll take my visit to the ER step by step. I think it's worth telling the story.

So - my mom picked me up to take me to the ER, which is located in Västerås, a bigger city about 35km from where I am now. SO wonderful to only have that far to the nearest ER, eh? At least we have an ambulance depot here in case someone is bleeding through their ass or is going into cardiac arrest or something.
Once there, I walked up to the ticket thingy, and got my number for waiting in line. Turns out, it was my turn right away. I explain my situation, that I just came home from Canada, have been waiting for weeks to get an appointment with a doctor in Sala, my hometown, and that my back has gotten to the point where I had no choice but to come to the ER for some help. The admitting nurse was flabbergasted with how I had been treated in Sala, that I hadn't gotten an appointment yet, and explained that she wasn't really allowed to admit me. The 'correct' way to admit me was to have my family doctor send me here, and let them know in advance that I was coming so they would have time to prepare. Whatever. As I got worried that they actually wouldn't let me in, I stated my case and that I really had to be admitted since I was in too much pain to function on any level as a human being!!! The nurse realized I was teling the truth, and finally admitted me, with the explanation that would describe in the admitting records why she let me in without following the proper procedure. Phewww! Relief. Step one passed - I was IN!

After paying the required $50 to get care, I took a seat in the waiting room, and had only waited for a minute or when an orderly called me in to a room, where I should wait for a doctor.

About an hour and a half later, a doctor actually showed up in my room. In spite of my naturally calm nature, I was about to lose it, but seeing the doctor brought me back to my normal calm. And as usual, I got a foreign doctor. In my many visits to the ER in my life (many reasons, but none important here), I have NEVER had a Swedish ER doctor. This time I got a Russian, Bulgarian, or someone from that region. I didn't ask, but the name and accent were both fairly revealing. He started to examine me, after a bunch of questions about my condition. Since I didn't have certain symptoms, I was told that didn't need the anal probe, but I could've had it done in case I wanted to. I politely declined. Maybe five minutes later, he had come to the conclusion that, yes, once again, I had disk hernia. Just like I suspected. The verdict was in. He also told me that some times (most of the time), a disk hernia can heal itself with just medication and rest. Not rest like I see rest, but complete rest, with staying in bed as much as I could handle. No long walks, no going to the store and come back out with a bunch of grocery bags hanging from my backpack for everything that didn't fit inside it. Nothing. Oh well. At least I knew for sure now. Prior to my visit to the doc, I thought that moving around a bit couldn't hurt, or that it could even help. Good to know what I can and can't do, or rather should and shouldn't do.

In the next three hours or so, a nurse came in with my first painkiller, that I needed to take to make sure that it wouldn't make me sick. Then the docotr came back with two prescriptions, and he carefully told me how to take them since they were powerful. Any error in how I took them, and I could be back in the ER in no time. Knowing that I would get a couple of versions of morphine made me peaceful, since I know that this is powerful shit. My dad used to take them for some of his pain issues, and it mostly worked for him. Next step was to have me pee in a cup, for other tests, and they also took some of my blood to see if there was something else wrong with me. One never knows what I might have picked up in my seven years in Canada!!!!

Once I could leave, I felt good, and the short-term morphine tablet that I got had no bad effects on me. The long-term kind was in store for late that night. The long-term kind, I was supposed to take two of, morning and night, until I knew that it took most--if not all--of my pain away, and then I could go down to one table twice a day. The short-term kind was for possible spikes of pain, and should only be taken when needed. While waiting before it was bedtime and I was about to take the tablet, I went through the information about the medication I had received. "Mostly for use with patients with severe cancer pains", said the description. Should be strong enough then, I thought. The side-effects mentioned dizziness, drowsiness, potential nausea and vomiting, and some others. I rarely get affected by the side-effects stated, so I figured - why for this one?

Only minutes after taking the two-tablet dose, I started sweating, and yes, there was nausea. The nausea quickly made me run to the bathroom, and this is pretty much how my first night ended up. If I stayed in bed, it wasn't too bad, but any attempt to stand up ended up with me in the bathroom. Terrific. I had no pain in my back though!!!

This was two and half days ago. Now, I can actually eat food and keep them, even though the nausea is lurking. I reckon my body has gotten used to the shock the morphine initially gave me. I don't move around too much though. I sleep 20 hours of the day, and don't get up much. I try to eat, but I probably don't eat enough. I know I might not be able to keep it if I eat or drink too much, so why try. Might get better in the next couple of days, since I am cutting back to one tablet per dose starting tonight. Will be interesting how this affects my job interview next week.

I think this is all I'll write for now. Feels like it's time to get horizontal for the night. But there you have it, folks! A short tale about what can go on at a Swedish ER. Fun, eh.